Issue 02-01-2016

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart continues to fine-tune operations in pursuit of its growth strategy. Recent alterations include elimination of its smallest store format, the closure of underperforming stores in the United States and internationally, pay raises for more than 1.2 million U.S. employees and consolidation of its technology teams. The pillars of the company’s growth

LAKELAND, Fla. — Ed Crenshaw has set April 30 as the date of his retirement from Publix Super Markets Inc. Todd Jones, Publix’s president, will succeed Crenshaw as chief executive officer and will retain the presidency, the company announced last month. Crenshaw, 65, is the company’s fourth CEO and the grandson of founder George Jenkins.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Supervalu Inc. last month filed plans to spin off its Save-A-Lot chain of discount supermarkets. Save-A-Lot would become a publicly traded company, with Supervalu shareholders controlling at least 80% of the enterprise, according to Supervalu’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Supervalu president and chief executive officer Sam Duncan floated

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Scott Grimmett has been named chief executive officer of Golub Corp., which owns the Price Chopper supermarket chain, taking over for Jerry Golub. Grimmett, 57, has led the transformation of Price Chopper to the Market 32 brand, a costly, multiyear strategy designed to keep the chain competitive as it fends off the

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Howard Levine has stepped down as an officer of Dollar Tree Inc. Levine was chief executive officer of Family Dollar Stores Inc., which was acquired by Dollar Tree last summer. He remained with Dollar Tree to assist with the integration, reporting to and supporting CEO Bob Sasser. Gary Philbin, who was named

CARY, N.C. — Wegmans Food Markets Inc. is looking to enter North Carolina with a store here alongside the state’s Research Triangle. The outlet would be the Rochester, N.Y.-based chain’s first outside of New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. Its operating area includes New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and ­Massachusetts. The company is

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Hy-Vee Inc. has named Jay Marshall chief operating officer, in one of three recent promotions at the company. He had been executive vice president and chief retail officer. With the promotion, Marshall becomes only the fourth person in the company’s history to hold the COO title. He will remain in

MINNEAPOLIS — Target Corp. recently announced that Michelle Wlazlo will be joining the organization as senior vice president of apparel and accessories. She will be responsible for the retailer’s merchandising programs for women’s, men’s and children’s apparel and accessories, as well as Target’s baby business. Wlazlo brings to her role more than 25 years of

NEW YORK — As a membership organization, Sam’s Club has amassed a trove of data about its customers, from who is in the club to when they are there and from how often they shop to what they’re buying. Now, the retailer is unleashing that data to create more personal, relevant and emotionally connected experiences

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Kmart last month launched a program designed to help shoppers who are uninsured or underinsured save money on prescription drugs and other pharmacy products. Customers can enroll in the program, called Kmart Pharmacy Savings Plus, at any Kmart pharmacy, the company said. Kmart is offering two membership plans: an individual membership

At a time of retrenchment in the U.S. retailing community, retailers in the rest of the world are expanding their horizons and aggressively reaching across continents for new growth ­opportunities. So it is that one of Australia’s largest grocery retailers is exporting its home center unit to the United Kingdom, where, it believes, the opportunities

Two recent business stories that received a fair amount of attention in mainstream media channels raise some interesting questions about the trajectory of retailing in America. The National Retail Federation reported in the middle of last month that holiday sales increased just 3% to $626 billion. The lackluster performance fell well short of the association’s